{Chapter 44} Did I win?
After returning home and shedding her disguise, Anna directly approached Louise and explained the situation she had discovered.
Without hesitation, Louise helped Anna take a leave of absence and then decided to leave with her.
Although they had taken leaves together quite frequently recently, Anna figured it didn't matter since she was planning to resign after resolving the current issue.
As long as she wasn't fired before she could resign, she considered it a success.
Standing beside Louise, who was also dressed in casual clothes, Anna felt less like she was on a mission to gather intelligence and more like she was on a date with Louise.
...Or perhaps, Louise had joined her with exactly that intention.
By noon...
"Senpai, if you wanted to deal with Alphonso, you should have told me earlier," Louise said, following behind her with a smug expression.
"I've been annoyed with that guy for a while!"
"So, he really is from the Empire?"
"Well, technically, he's a second-generation immigrant with Empire heritage," Louise replied, pursing her lips.
"Despite having mixed southern blood, he loves to promote the Carrick racial supremacy ideology. He's a hardcore pureblood fanatic."
"...Ugh, are there really people like that?"
The Carrick race is said to be the common origin of various ethnic groups in the Kingdom of Rianved and the dominant ethnic group in the Iveg Empire, along with some minority groups.
For centuries, there have been those who advocated for Carrick racial supremacy, even going so far as to call for the extermination of all ethnic groups not directly descended from the Carrick.
These were the most fundamentalist pureblood fanatics.
Of course, no one in their right mind would believe such nonsense, but that didn't stop some fools from buying into it.
"...Pureblood fanatics," Anna murmured, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the term.
"What happened to that butler from your family last time?"
That female butler was a noble pureblood fanatic who believed that the Garland family's bloodline was unworthy of the Latimir family, so she had tried to send Anna to the red-light district.
"She... has been sent back to the main family by the old butler to face punishment," Louise quickly responded.
"She won't have any connection to what happens next."
"...Pureblood fanatics, pureblood fanatics. Such annoying people," Anna grumbled.
"Even these fundamentalist pureblood fanatics want to get rid of me. Could it be that the Garland family has some mixed blood in its ancestry?"
"Who knows? You'll have to look into that yourself, Senpai," Louise said, a mischievous smile appearing on her face.
"But no matter what bloodline you come from, I don't care. Even if you were just a commoner, it wouldn't bother me."
"As long as you don't mind, I was thinking maybe I should just let you take care of me in the future."
"...Huh?"
Hearing Anna casually drop what was, to Louise, a bombshell statement, Louise froze for a moment before her face flushed red.
"If... if that's what you want, Senpai, I wouldn't mind..."
"Is that Alphonso over there?"
However, Anna didn't continue the conversation to further fluster Louise.
Instead, she turned her attention to a middle-aged man in a green adventurer's association uniform who had just walked out of the mansion.
The man had a wheat skin complexion and brown hair, clearly showing signs of southern mixed heritage, though his curly hair confirmed his Empire ancestry.
He was a man who embodied the most distinct traits of both ethnic groups.
"Yes, that's him," Louise nodded, snapping back to attention.
"Senpai, what should we do next?"
"I don't know what to do either."
"Huh?" Louise was stunned by Anna's response.
"Then why did you come here...?"
‘Of course, it was to start a simulation.’
Seeing that her simulator had just finished its cooldown, Anna had chosen to come to the mansion around noon precisely for this reason.
Well then... [Simulation Start]!
After selecting to start the simulation, Anna immediately turned to Louise.
"Originally, I just wanted to take a look. But since you're here too, how about we go get something to eat?"
"...Eat... Sure!"
Louise had come with the intention of going on a date with Anna, so when she heard the suggestion to eat together, her head nodded so fast it almost left an afterimage.
"Let's go then. You can pick the place today," Anna said, taking the initiative to hold Louise's hand.
!!!
Louise felt like her breath had stopped.
Her usually reserved Senpai was actually being this forward.
The appearance of Helga had already put Louise on high alert, and she had barely slept last night, her mind filled with images of Anna and Helga laughing together.
But now, Anna was actively suggesting they eat together, talking about letting Louise take care of her, and even taking the initiative to hold her hand...
‘Did I win?’
Excitedly gripping Anna's hand in return, Louise felt like she was floating.
...As for Anna?
‘Oh no... Did I make Louise misunderstand something?’
Anna hadn't thought much about actively holding Louise's hand.
It was just that once the simulation started, the simulator's interface took up most of her vision.
If she didn't hold Louise's hand, she was afraid they might get separated while walking.
‘Well, no use worrying about it now.’
The important thing was to focus on the simulation's content.
[Day 0: After seeing Alphonso leave his house, you and Louise immediately decide to infiltrate the mansion.]
Since the simulation started before Anna suggested going to eat, they didn't just leave to enjoy a nice meal.
[You notice that although the mansion is quite large, there are very few servants. You and Louise don't even need any tools or magic to easily sneak inside.]
[You and Louise head to search the master bedroom.]
[You found Alphonso's diary.]
Who even keeps a diary these days?
Anna remembered a comment from one of her roommates, and while she thought it made some sense, there were still people who diligently wrote diaries.
[You and Louise head to search the guest room.]
[You found nothing.]
...Why search there? Look for places like a study or something!
[You and Louise head to search the study.]
Yes, that's it. There might be something incriminating in the study.
Anna remembered a plot device from a novel where moving a specific book on a shelf would reveal a secret room or basement.
[You and Louise suspect there might be a hidden mechanism in the study, so you spend a lot of time searching for it.]
[Thirty minutes pass, and you find nothing.]
...Anna felt like the simulator had just slapped her in the face.